I am severely disappointed today. Not in RPI, but in the city of Troy. I do not mean to bring up the Constitution but it seems to me that the document was created in the spirit of avoiding harassment and to protect the right to say what you want without being harassed. It was based on the idea of freedom of expression as long as you don’t infringe upon other people’s freedom.

Today I was playing guitar. I was playing loud—the only way I play guitar. It was not so loud to hurt my ears or really be obnoxious as far as I was concerned. Now I have been playing guitar for well over 10 years and do not wish to play so loudly that I upset my neighbors, since that would hinder my ability to play guitar in the future at my residence. I live on Fourth Street above a noisy bar, and consider myself a Troy resident as well as an RPI student.

I have also turned up my stereo, walked outside, and stood two floors below and listened to see how loud the music in my home is from the street, just so I can get a feel for how much the walls dampen the sound. When my stereo is set to ear blistering levels, you cannot hear it outside over the occasional traffic of the street with the windows open. I know my guitar amplifier is louder than my stereo, but I do my best to pay attention to the world around me, and would be willing to adjust the volume for my neighbors.

Today I was visited by a policeman. He did not ring the bell, but entered my building and knocked on my door directly. I heard him knocking (notice that my guitar was not so loud I couldn’t hear him knock) and answered the door, when he entered my home and demanded to see my ID. He did not ask to enter, but proceeded to look around the place and then check my identification over the radio. I asked him who I was disturbing, and he said, “Me.” Then he told me that he’s going to drive by my street often to make sure I am not playing guitar—it was his opinion that any noise coming from my apartment is too loud. He also told me that if hears anything from the street again, he will come up here and confiscate whatever is making the noise, and then arrest me.

So I guess my question is, “WHAT THE HELL!?!” I’m sitting in my apartment afraid to turn on the TV, knowing that Mr. Policeman, now having seen my nice equipment, can take what he would like based purely on a subjective stance. Is there no way to combat this? Although I asked him about how may I play at a reasonable volume, his response was always to “not play at all.”

Do I have any rights? I am more than willing to abide by any reasonable standard, but none has been given to me. I am more than willing to turn down any music for the sake of my neighbors, but none have complained. I can hear the bar downstairs from the street, is it possible to turn my residence into such an establishment so that I may play guitar freely? I do wish the cops would take the time to prevent the local crack dealer down my street from doing business, instead of harassing someone who is obviously willing to abide by the rules. As I do not want to go to jail, my guitar will remain silent until someone can amend this obviously unconstitutional noise ordinance.

Adam Schwem